


Sign of the Times

by mariuspunmercy



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Dream Team SMP Spoilers, Family Dynamics, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mentioned TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Mentioned Wilbur Soot, Technoblade-centric (Video Blogging RPF), being a clingy and techno apologist is hard, he's sad and wants to be okay again :D, sbi family dynamic canon i don't care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:35:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28595577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariuspunmercy/pseuds/mariuspunmercy
Summary: Despite being a family of four, there's only two of them left.Techno has no idea how to explain that to Phil.
Relationships: Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 152





	Sign of the Times

**Author's Note:**

> so before everything falls apart today, let's have some angst because why not :D they are family your honor i simply don't care about canon

Techno’s always been good at sensing people’s true intentions. 

He can tell when he could possibly be double crossed. It’s why he prepared the two withers for the Pogtopia and Manberg battle. He has to be  _ ready.  _ He can’t go into anything without knowing the situation first. As soon as he’s got a good read on things, he’ll decide how to move on from there. 

Evidently, he did not do enough reading this time. No, he slammed the book closed and put it back on his bookshelf because he thought he could trust Tommy. After everything that’s happened, he thought his own brother would’ve at least shown him a little remorse. 

It almost made him throw his head back in laughter. He probably looks insane, traveling across the path that Tommy built in the nether to securely move through the different dimensions. A tool for safety that was going to be for the both of them.

A ghast fired at him. He let the fireball hit the wood planks. Better to let it burn and cut off the rest of the world. 

He stepped into the portal, a dull ache settling in the pit of his stomach. He pushed it down as he was transported back into the snowy mountains. The cold wrapped him in a blanket of comfort, reminded him that he was home again and nothing could hurt him here. He’s away from the naive ghost of his twin and his brother that might as well have shot him then and there. 

Techno continued walking, his feet dragging in the snow. It left tracks, but no one was going to come after him. They were too afraid of him and what he’s capable of. 

He’s trying to make it to his base as quickly as possible, yet he had no desire to pick up his speed. He wondered how long it would take for him to snap out of it this time. 

It took two days last time. But last time, he hadn’t been spending everyday with Tommy, sitting down with him at the table and eating three meals a day for once in his life. He pretended like he was finally taking care of himself. The voices knew it was to ensure Tommy regained his health and became the energetic, happy person he once was. 

Last time, he wasn’t checking the windows to see if anyone creeped up on him. He knew he could take down anyone who dared cross him. He wasn’t afraid of Dream, but Tommy was, and he was making every effort to keep him safely tucked inside his house. 

Last time, he’d only lost one brother. He doesn’t have any left. 

The cobblestone tower came into Techno’s vision sooner than he would’ve liked. His home was already in front of him, as is Phil and the new farm he’s spent the past few hours working on to supply nether wart for the three of them. 

How was he going to tell Phil? How was he supposed to tell the person responsible for Wilbur’s death that Techno’s ideas and morals were the reason he’s lost another son? How was he supposed to explain that they’re both gone now?

He stormed past Phil, his boots clanging against the wooden stairs as he stomped into his house. He glanced at the box where Tommy hid away from Dream. He ignored the way his breathing picked up, choosing to instead grab a pickaxe from his chest and begin taking down the stupid, ugly building outside. 

The door slammed closed behind him. He didn’t know if it was from his a person or the wind. He didn’t care to find out. 

“What are you doing?”

He let go of the chest’s lid when Phil’s voice sounded behind him. He nearly caught his finger, but managed to pull it away before it crushed him. He had a feeling the pain might actually dull the pang in his chest. 

“Dream’s coming in twenty minutes,” Techno answered. He always found it best not to feed into Phil’s questioning. He ends up revealing too much in the end. 

“Wait.  _ Dream?  _ Why? I thought we-”

“Yeah, I thought too.”

Techno shook his head at himself. He had  _ so much  _ faith in Tommy, supplying him with gear and potions to make sure he didn’t get hurt. If anyone so much as touched a hair on that kid’s head, he was going to reveal himself to the festival and massacre the whole thing. He did it once, and he’d do it again. 

“I’m taking down the tower,” Techno informed. “You can go back to your farm. I won’t bug you when Dream gets here.”

When Techno tried walking past him, Phil grabbed his arm and pushed him back gently so he was directly in front of him. “You need to explain a couple of things for me because I am  _ very  _ confused. Where’s Tommy? And why are you bringing Dream here? It kind of feels like-”

He lifted his hand to cut Phil off. He knew what words were going to come out of Phil, and he didn’t think he could stand to hear it. He could barely keep his wobbly knees stable enough to make it through this conversation.

Yeah, it does feel like a betrayal. It wasn’t, because Tommy made it very clear he was eventually going to switch sides and he was only with Techno to get his discs back. But it  _ felt  _ like one, and Tommy knows  _ exactly  _ what betrayal feels like. He understands what it’s like to be abandoned by people he put his explicit trust in. He knows what being misunderstood is, and to have an entire gallery of friends confused about actions he was very direct about since the beginning. 

Techno made sure Pogtopia was aware of his hatred for the government, but they instilled one right after they used  _ his  _ armor and weapons. They never wanted him, or his friendship. They wanted him as a weapon to incite fear. He prepared that wither for a situation where that possibly happens, and it  _ did.  _

He made sure Tommy understood his plan. Not only was L’Manberg going to go down in flames, but Tubbo and his cabinet were going down with it. He needed that nation burnt to bedrock, damage so severe that it’s deemed unbuildable. 

It’s Wilbur’s unfinished sympathy. It was meant to stay forever unfinished, and he was not about to let Wilbur’s death be in vain. 

“I don’t care how it sounds,” Techno finally responded. “This is what’s happening now. Dream’s with us, and Tommy’s with them. We didn’t betray each other or whatever. Our differences made it impossible to work together, so we’re not.”

Phil crossed his arms, his eyes focused on a spot on the wall. “You left together. You guys were  _ laughing.  _ You gave him your axe and armor and all this other stuff.”

“I did do that, didn’t I?” He leaned back onto his wall of chests. “I trusted him to do well with that axe.” It would’ve hurt less if he threw it in lava. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Where’s Tommy now?”   


“Well, right after he and Tubbo beat each other up and Tommy said he wasn’t worth anything to him, he left my side to join his.” His explanation didn’t do his actions justice. He just has no idea how to tell Phil that he wasn’t getting his son back, and that moment of solidarity as they left might’ve been the last time he saw them together. 

“Techno…” 

“I’m sorry, okay? I tried to keep him on my side for as long as I could, but he wanted to be with Tubbo again.” 

Techno drew his eyes towards the ceiling. Not only was he avoiding Phil’s watchful gaze, but his unshed tears were hidden from view. For a second, his mind actually flashed back to Tubbo and how the young president stood there while Dream shouted at him and blamed him for every horrible event from these past couple of weeks. How nobody stood up for him, and how Tubbo agreed with him. 

It wasn’t Tubbo’s fault. It’s the government. But Tubbo was going to keep drilling his presidency for as long as he can, and that wasn’t sitting right with him.

“I can see you holding it in.” One of Phil’s wings blocked the moonlight from the window. The other wrapped around Techno, keeping him secure in his spot. “Don’t bottle this up.”

“I don’t want to talk about this right now,” he grumbled, blinking away the wetness in his eyes as he was forced to look at Phil. “Dream’s coming, and-”

“No he’s absolutely not. He’s not splitting my family up any more than he already has. He’s the one that led Wilbur to his death, and he’s the one that got Tommy exiled. He’s not coming anywhere near you, and I mean that.”   


“Please, just let me go.” Techno felt the first tear drop on his cheek. 

“If I let you go, you’re going to do something stupid. I’m not going to risk anyone else.”

“Why!? It’s my fault and you know it!” Techno didn’t realize when he’d started crying, but it wasn’t stopping. “I knew Wilbur was going to blow up L’Manberg! He told me the night before the fight and I didn’t say anything! Tommy didn’t want to hurt Tubbo, and he’d told me that over and over again! But I was still stupid enough to think he would change! He didn’t, and I’m not changing either!  _ That’s  _ why I need to go! I can’t stay here anymore! It isn’t good for anyone!” 

“What about me?” Phil whispered. “What good would it do me if I lose the only son I have left?”

Techno reached up and put his arms around Phil’s neck, allowing the wings to wrap around him and keep him warm in the icy weather that came in through the window. Quite frankly, he surprised himself. His brain wanted him to immediately pull away, but another part of him  _ couldn’t _ . He wanted to stay like this, keeping the rest of his dysfunctional family in a place where it wouldn’t leave. 

As much as everyone sees him as some god, his nature has always been to protect. He didn’t want anyone to interfere with Wilbur in fear that they’d try to kill him, but he hadn’t prepared for Wilbur himself to demand death. He ignored everything Tommy told him to keep him close for as long as he could, and now he’s vulnerable to everything that’s out there. 

The prison sent shivers up his spine. He let out a loose sob that he covered up with a cough just thinking about it. If he let go of Phil, there’s a risk that he’d be the one thrown in and Techno would have no way of getting him out. He’d lose the only person who’s been on his side the entire time, and he’d truly be alone. 

He couldn’t have that. 

“I didn’t mean to let him go,” Techno tried. “He understands my point of view and I understand his, but that doesn’t make this easier. Why isn’t it easier?”

He told Tommy he hopes he doesn’t regret it. He really,  _ really  _ hopes. He doesn’t want to see that flash of remorse in Tommy’s eyes as he falls to his death, or maybe gets an arrow in the throat, or blown up by one of the withers Techno plans on releasing tomorrow. 

The images were too vivid, too lifelike in his head. He could barely handle a world without Wilbur, let alone one without Tommy. Even if he becomes like Ghostbur, it wouldn’t be the same. It’d never be the same, no matter how hard he tries. 

He’s taken Ghostbur to Pogtopia. He’s tried many, many times. 

“It’s never easy,” Phil reassures. “It still isn’t. I remember everything about Wilbur’s death in such detail that it’d probably scare you. But this doesn’t mean that Tommy’s never going to talk to you again. Ghostbur can describe the way I stabbed him yet he visits me everyday.”

Techno wiped his eyes. “We would all visit you, no matter what.”

“And that’s why I have the best kids.”

He didn’t feel like one of the best kids. He’s the reason one is dead and the other is long gone. 

“You know… Tommy wouldn’t have made it far without you. Dream would’ve tracked him down and killed him, or left him in that prison to rot. At least…” Phil paused to take a shaky breath. “At least you helped him get over everything Dream did to him on that island and made him confident enough to face his fears head on again. So he’ll be back. Just give it some time, and he’ll be here again.”

“Tommy’s a strong person. He could do it without me.”

“No one can do anything alone.”

A hammer might as well have hit him point blank in the head. He never  _ wanted  _ to be alone, but it’s just the way things end up. He misses a time when his family was complete. When he could spar with Wilbur but refuse to even jokingly fight Tommy out of fear of hurting him. Or when he’d stay up until one in the morning with Phil and they’d double check all reinforcements before being able to go to sleep comfortably to make sure nothing would hurt them while asleep. 

“I may be down two kids, but the loss of their life does not dismiss the importance of yours.”

Techno clutched onto Phil for dear life, and though he could hear crying that wasn’t his own, he wasn’t planning on letting go anytime soon.

**Author's Note:**

> maybe one day i'll write some fluff because all i do is angst but come ON the smp is so angsty. like i am waiting very anxiously for the tommy and tubbo talk because i need them to be friends again
> 
> this is my second work titled after a harry styles song and it probably won't be the last but ayo that's okay :D
> 
> the characters on the smp are so complex for no reason and i love analyzing them because of how different the dynamics are that WORK. 
> 
> anyways, i hope everyone liked this :D 
> 
> vibe with me on tumblr: knightpuffy


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